A celestial opening for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2!
Marvel's ragtag group of outer space heroes returned in spectacular fashion this weekend, putting GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 at number one with an estimated opening of $145 million!
The bickering band of cosmic A-holes soared above the surprise $94 million start of the first GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY chapter in 2014 (that movie finished with $333 million to become the biggest domestic hit of the summer season).
The follow-up has the fifth-highest domestic opening for Marvel behind IRON MAN 3 ($174.1 million), CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR ($179.1 million) and the two AVENGERS movies ($191.2 million for ULTRON and $207 million for the first), giving it the best debut of any MCU entry without MVP Iron Man.
Besides appearances from Robert Downey Jr.'s armored alter-ego, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 also scored the biggest opening for any comic book adaptation that doesn't feature popular superheroes Batman (THE DARK KNIGHT movies and BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE all opened between $158-$166 million) or Spider-Man (Sam Raimi's SPIDER-MAN 3 started with $151 million a decade ago).
In addition, writer-director James Gunn's emotional sequel (which cost a reported $200 million) has collected $282.6 million from international audiences since it got the jump on April 28th, giving it a worldwide total of $427.6 million.
The colorful cast of characters (which added the likes of Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone to the ranks) hit the right notes for most critics, who gave it an average 81% on Rotten Tomatoes. The JoBlo reviews can be found HERE, HERE and HERE.
Pulling up in second was THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS with $8.5 million after coasting in first place for three weeks. The eighth chapter of Vin Diesel's car crew drove past $200 million domestic and has steered its way to $1.15 billion worldwide.
THE BOSS BABY crawled up a spot to third place with $6.1 million on its sixth weekend in theaters, and the comedy HOW TO BE A LATIN LOVER slipped to fourth with $5.2 million, down 57% from its unexpected second-place debut last week.
Disney's live-action BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was still romancing in fifth with $4.9 million, bringing its domestic total to $487.5 million after two months. The Tom Hanks/Emma Watson/John Boyega tech thriller THE CIRCLE followed in sixth with $4 million for a loss of 55% from last week's opening.
The Hindi action epic BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION was in seventh with $3.2 million, a drop of 69% from its opening last week (though it still has the second-highest per-screen average in the Top 10). The list was finished up by the Chris Evans drama GIFTED, the comedy remake GOING IN STYLE and the animated SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE.
Outside the chart, the Rosario Dawson/Katherine Heigl clash UNFORGETTABLE faded from memory, and Jordan Peele's R-rated horror-thriller GET OUT crossed $200 million worldwide (on a $5 million cost).
Next weekend has Charlie Hunnam getting medieval in director Guy Ritchie's KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD, Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn get together for the R-rated comedy SNATCHED, and limited releases include Doug Liman's war movie THE WALL and the Los Angeles drama LOWRIDERS.
Who is your favorite GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY character? VOTE HERE!
| # | MOVIE TITLE | WKND $ | TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | $145 M | NEW |
| 2 | The Fate of the Furious | $8.5 M | $207.1 M |
| 3 | The Boss Baby | $6.1 M | $156.7 M |
| 4 | How to Be a Latin Lover | $5.2 M | $20.6 M |
| 5 | Beauty and the Beast | $4.9 M | $487.5 M |
| 6 | Baahubali 2: The Conclusion | $3.2 M | $16.1 M |
| 7 | The Circle | $4 M | $15.7 M |
| 8 | Gifted | $2 M | $19.2 M |
| 9 | Going in Style | $1.9 M | $40.6 M |
| 10 | Smurfs: The Lost Village | $1.8 M | $40.5 M |